Alterations to fire regimes have resulted in many changes to the biological communities including changes in vegetation composition and structure and vegetation type conversions or ecosystem migrations. This text details many of these changes, explains how fire has changed as an ecosystem process, and provides insights for determining the direction that the changes might take in the future. As with introductory treatments of any of the elements of natural ecosystems, we are prone to generalization, simplification, and standardization of processes and interactions that are inherently complex. In describing fire effects and regimes we are by necessity guilty of continuing that trend toward simplification. However, we hope that by communicating the concepts of the.
